Housing/veteran reward idea: Item search tool.

Have you ever misplaced an item only to locate it after several iterations through your entire collection of secure containers?

If so, this housing and veteran reward idea could be the salvation you're looking for! With some discussion and probably alterations to the idea, perhaps it could be submitted to the EA/Mythic devs for consideration to be actually implemented.

The way this item works is basically a 2-part process that works as follows:

You are presented with a menu option that allows you to browse your house's entire inventory or to search your house for a specific item by known properties you fill out on a gump, and are presented with the restults/items marked for retrieval when browsing.

If nothing is found, a gump appears telling you the outcome if you have chosen to search, otherwise the house returns matching items that it found and either gives you directions to what container(s) they are in or you can pay an item retrieval fee (based on the item(s) insurance value) to have the item(s) placed in a special moving crate at your feet.

This item comes in two forms: An in-game buyable item which any age account can use, and a veteran reward pick which comes with a cool moving crate item which can be locked down as a display item in the house, and which comes in a few varieties of container graphics and can be colored with most types of dyes.

Both forms of this item attach an extra menu option to the character's context menu and paperdoll whenever they enter a house that they own and when a character is in possession of one of these item search tools.

Setting the access level on the item search tool when secured or locked down controls whether guildmates can search containers that they have access rights to or not.

I feel that the item retrieval fee is needed to make it a gold sink and to slown down the potential abuse of the tool by loot scripters searching for IDOC loot, I would suggest it could addtionally scale if needed from 5,000 gp to 50,000 gp per use possibly taking into account size of house being searched.

If no fee were to be implemented, I would suggest that items being searched for need to fulfil the requirements of having been in the players posession and in a house that the character possessing the search tool owns for a minimum of two hours if they are to show up in the search results.

While you are in search mode, the house will not accept new lockdowns or items to secure containers and items/containers you are not looking for are invisible and underneath of other items in containers you're searching in.

Finding an item if you're going to the location of an item will cause it to be movable once dragged and search mode will be automatically exited if the item is successfully dragged to a backpack or house tile.

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

Have you ever misplaced an item only to locate it after several iterations through your entire collection of secure containers?

If so, this housing and veteran reward idea could be the salvation you're looking for! With some discussion and probably alterations to the idea, perhaps it could be submitted to the EA/Mythic devs for consideration to be actually implemented.

The way this item works is basically a 2-part process that works as follows:

You are presented with a menu option that allows you to browse your house's entire inventory or to search your house for a specific item by known properties you fill out on a gump, and are presented with the restults/items marked for retrieval when browsing.

If nothing is found, a gump appears telling you the outcome if you have chosen to search, otherwise the house returns matching items that it found and either gives you directions to what container(s) they are in or you can pay an item retrieval fee (based on the item(s) insurance value) to have the item(s) placed in a special moving crate at your feet.

This item comes in two forms: An in-game buyable item which any age account can use, and a veteran reward pick which comes with a cool moving crate item which can be locked down as a display item in the house, and which comes in a few varieties of container graphics and can be colored with most types of dyes.

Both forms of this item attach an extra menu option to the character's context menu and paperdoll whenever they enter a house that they own and when a character is in possession of one of these item search tools.

Setting the access level on the item search tool when secured or locked down controls whether guildmates can search containers that they have access rights to or not.

I feel that the item retrieval fee is needed to make it a gold sink and to slown down the potential abuse of the tool by loot scripters searching for IDOC loot, I would suggest it could addtionally scale if needed from 5,000 gp to 50,000 gp per use possibly taking into account size of house being searched.

If no fee were to be implemented, I would suggest that items being searched for need to fulfil the requirements of having been in the players posession and in a house that the character possessing the search tool owns for a minimum of two hours if they are to show up in the search results.

While you are in search mode, the house will not accept new lockdowns or items to secure containers and items/containers you are not looking for are invisible and underneath of other items in containers you're searching in.

Finding an item if you're going to the location of an item will cause it to be movable once dragged and search mode will be automatically exited if the item is successfully dragged to a backpack or house tile.

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yes a great item, in theory

however, to avoid idoc "scripter" use etc
just make it bonded to the house YOU own

Stratics Veteran

Those are great ideas. I'd love to be able to buy it from EA games, simply because neither one of my accts are old enough to get this as a vet reward (I'm assuming it would be the upcoming vet reward if that's how it was added).

Another idea would be to make it a vet reward but useable by anyone? I still wouldn't be able to get one of my own then (have you seen the prices of the tiles lately! lol), but maybe if this item wasn't account-bound, I could find a friend/guildy that would let me borrow theirs when I needed it

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

Have you ever misplaced an item only to locate it after several iterations through your entire collection of secure containers?

If so, this housing and veteran reward idea could be the salvation you're looking for! With some discussion and probably alterations to the idea, perhaps it could be submitted to the EA/Mythic devs for consideration to be actually implemented.

Click to expand...

Don't Game Masters already have some code to find players items ?

If so, perhaps it would not be that difficult to create such an item for players as perhaps a 13th year Veteran Reward (that is, claimable by 13th years but usable by any age account).

Stratics Veteran

We also need an ingame mechanisms to search vendors.
ATM all we have is "illegal" websites that use 3rd party programs to do what wow did with there auction house.

We want to be able to search every vendor on every server for the item we want. You can keep it a bit challenging by only showing us on UOcartographer where the vendor house is and we still have to find it. but the ability to search vendors would be AMAZING

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

I would suggest that items being searched for need to fulfil the requirements of having been in the players posession and in a house that the character possessing the search tool owns for a minimum of two hours if they are to show up in the search results.

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This is a silly stipulation, aside from that, simply make it a tool located within the House Sign for Owners/Co-owners only, not friends.

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

I mean, younger accounts may on average, have less items to sort from and so, less need for the tool.

On the other end, the older the account, chances are, that more items would be all over the place from hoarding them over the years.

So, I would find it logical to see it as a Vet Reward and actually a perfect candidate for it.

I mean, such a tool would not be a ground breaking unbalancing one. Players would still be able to find their items the old way, sorting their secures.
Yet, for those having it, it will be of good help.

I see it just as a perfect candidate for a 13th year Vet Reward. Not unbalancing nor ground breaking but of some good usefullness.

I see it good as a Vet reward claimable by old accounts but usable by all.

By the way, I think the tool should not only look at the account's house belongings, but also browse through the bank boxes of all the existing characters. The item searched for could be in a bank box rather than in a secure.......

Stratics Veteran

I see it good as a Vet reward claimable by old accounts but usable by all.

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I thought you was against "instant" gold for high end items. Seing as house teleporters costs from 30 to 60 mill I guess this item will fetch minimum 75mill if sold.
(My account is old so I wouldnt mind)

I think this is a great idea, but I think that if implemented it should be applied to all houses no matter how old your account is.

I thought you was against "instant" gold for high end items. Seing as house teleporters costs from 30 to 60 mill I guess this item will fetch minimum 75mill if sold.
(My account is old so I wouldnt mind)

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You have to keep in mind the hypocrisy that is poops. He's against selling items for multi-millions, yet right after teleporters were introduced he had an ad in the trade forums selling a set for 80 mil or something like that.

Stratics Veteran

I mean, younger accounts may on average, have less items to sort from and so, less need for the tool.

On the other end, the older the account, chances are, that more items would be all over the place from hoarding them over the years.

So, I would find it logical to see it as a Vet Reward and actually a perfect candidate for it.

I mean, such a tool would not be a ground breaking unbalancing one. Players would still be able to find their items the old way, sorting their secures.
Yet, for those having it, it will be of good help.

I see it just as a perfect candidate for a 13th year Vet Reward. Not unbalancing nor ground breaking but of some good usefullness.

I see it good as a Vet reward claimable by old accounts but usable by all.

By the way, I think the tool should not only look at the account's house belongings, but also browse through the bank boxes of all the existing characters. The item searched for could be in a bank box rather than in a secure.......

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Darn, Popps - a couple of threads you posted actually gave me, for a moment or 2, the glimmer of hope you actually fell off of the stupid wagon - it seems you only slid over the edge and bounced your head on the ground a couple of times and then climbed back up again...

You just seem to have no idea just how easy this game has gotten, how easy it has become to get items, how easy it is to place housing, how easy it is to skill up, how easy, period.

By your logic, my 2 active accounts - neither currently older than 3 months old, couldn't possibly have as many items as yours? Stop to consider that, on those 2 accounts, there are 2 MAX lockdown customizables, and between the 2, there are now close to 4500 items in lockdowns/secures.

This is a prime candidate for NOT being a vet item. And certainly not a 13 year one. You gripe about a level playing field, and rares, and here you are, arguing for an instant classic.... I'm seriously beginning to wonder if you are just dense as lead, or, as some would claim, just a troll...

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

Well, there is a difference that I think needs be made between items needed to play the game at a competitive level and items which are really a bonus.

That is, while I do not favour high costs for gear and weapons or powerscolls because these are very much needed by players to be competitive in the game, especially in PvP, I have no problems whatsoever with items not as "essential" like rares, teleporters and even this item search tool discussed here, to be expensive.

Why ?

Becauise they are not so essential to playing the game as much as gear, weapons or powerscrolls might be.

Rares ? One can well have fun in Uo without them. Teleporters ? One can sure use recalls, instead. Item search tool ? Search the old way one item at a time or have a better storage order finds the item just as well........

So, it is not that I am not in favour of high pricing "per se", I am not in favour of high pricing for items which are necessary to play the game competitively.

Rares, teleporters, item search tools or anything of the like are not so much essential and so could very well have high pricing, IMHO.

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

This is a prime candidate for NOT being a vet item. And certainly not a 13 year one.
You gripe about a level playing field, and rares, and here you are, arguing for an instant classic.

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Of course an item search tool could come handy to all players.
I am not saying that I dislike the idea of making such a tool available to all.

Nonetheless, I cannot also help thinking that since, as I see it, Veteran Rewards are meant to function also as an incentive for players to keep their account active as much as possible (and thus provide monthly subscriptions to the game which are vital for UO to exist...), having a Veteran reward that is not unbalancing nor ground breaking but certainly usefull like this one (players could still search for their items the old way or with better storage order), could serve such an important purpose as I see it of the Veteran Rewards.

Not ground breaking, not unbalancing but usefull.

An item search tool has all of these characteristics and, therefore, this is why I see it just perfect as a new Veteran Reward.

The most important thing is to keep accounts active as it provides the vital monthly subscriptions that keep the game running.

If well thought and attractive, Veteran Rewards serve this purpose and keep UO going and resources well fed through the monthly subscriptions because accounts are kept as active to eventually qualify for the Rewards. Therefore, I see it as a good thing, not a bad thing.

Whatever helps UO and keeps resources (subscriptions) high and with it new content comes to us, it is good, IMHO.

Stratics Veteran

Of course an item search tool could come handy to all players.
I am not saying that I dislike the idea of making such a tool available to all.

Nonetheless, I cannot also help thinking that since, as I see it, Veteran Rewards are meant to function also as an incentive for players to keep their account active as much as possible (and thus provide monthly subscriptions to the game which are vital for UO to exist...), having a Veteran reward that is not unbalancing nor ground breaking but certainly usefull like this one (players could still search for their items the old way or with better storage order), could serve such an important purpose as I see it of the Veteran Rewards.

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Vet rewards are a thank you for staying, uninterrupted, for a set period of time - not an incentive for keeping an account open... and you are nuts if you think anyone is going to keep an account open for 13 years to get something that is this basic...

Not ground breaking, not unbalancing but usefull.

An item search tool has all of these characteristics and, therefore, this is why I see it just perfect as a new Veteran Reward.

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So is the house deco tool - we did fine without it for years - yet there it is, on a vendor, and cheap. And I lose those, too...

Vet rewards are not an incentive to keep an account open - they are a thank you for doing so. Actual *CONTENT* is what keeps accounts open. Little kids worry about what prize that comes with their Happy Meal... adults worry about what's in the meal.

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

Vet rewards are not an incentive to keep an account open - they are a thank you for doing so. Actual *CONTENT* is what keeps accounts open. Little kids worry about what prize that comes with their Happy Meal... adults worry about what's in the meal.

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Well, I disagree.

While I agree that a player may not keep an account as active for 13 years to just qualify for a Vet Reward, we must also remember that Vet Rewards come at 1 years increments.

So, there is always a reachable and reasonable "next step up" if the list of Veteran Rewards is well done and well thought and assorted with something for each year to keep a player's interest focused.

As I see it, the type of player that might be tempted by keeping the account open is not the player who decided to quit playing the game, but more like the player who wants to take a temporary break from it like for a few months.

If there is anything from the Vet Reward assortment that the player wants, it could be that the player might decide to take the break but leave the account as active (and who knows, perhaps also play less but still play, occasionally) and so accumulate account age that will eventually grant that much wanted reward.

Marketing as a lot of strategies to keep customers loyal to a product, rewarding customers for their loyalty to the brand or the product is one of those strategies.

Stratics Veteran

While I agree that a player may not keep an account as active for 13 years to just qualify for a Vet Reward, we must also remember that Vet Rewards come at 1 years increments.

So, there is always a reachable and reasonable "next step up" if the list of Veteran Rewards is well done and well thought and assorted with something for each year to keep a player's interest focused.

As I see it, the type of player that might be tempted by keeping the account open is not the player who decided to quit playing the game, but more like the player who wants to take a temporary break from it like for a few months.

If there is anything from the Vet Reward assortment that the player wants, it could be that the player might decide to take the break but leave the account as active (and who knows, perhaps also play less but still play, occasionally) and so accumulate account age that will eventually grant that much wanted reward.

Marketing as a lot of strategies to keep customers loyal to a product, rewarding customers for their loyalty to the brand or the product is one of those strategies.

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Like usual, you're missing the point.

I was going to drag out the happy meal analogy a bit further, but suffice it to say, EA/Origin took away a lot of incentive for people to keep ponying up their dollars, first with UO:R (regardless of personal perspective on the split), and then with AoS. No vet reward is worth playing something you just don't enjoy. Therefor, it's fallacy to say that vet rewards are a real incentive for anything. They are what they are - a thank you for those that stayed - you're free to disagree (as I'm sure you will), but that doesn't make you correct.

Stratics VeteranStratics Legend

If a game is horrible and a pain to play then I think hardly anything could ever convince a player to stick with it since the player would not even imagine coming back to the game in the future.

But, if the game, though far from being perfect still has some interesting aspects well, then I think that marketing strategies such as Veteran Rewards could add some appeal to help keep the subscriptions up by having, perhaps, players interested in keeping accounts open because they can foresee a come back after a temporary break and they want to raise their account age in the meanwhile.....

House-sign basic search: allows you to do basic text searches of all your items, returns them to the house moving crate for you OR highlights the current containers for the items for 2 minutes.

Thus, it would be helpful, but mildly annoying to most folks who don't think ahead when typing (show me my item of ARMOR... oops, now I have a crate with 350 pieces of armor in it.) Perhaps give it option to search only in secures, lockdowns, etc., and restrict by item type, name, engravings, etc. Only usable by the account owner of the house.

Let's face it, you don't want random folks poking through your house, so full security restrictions wouldn't make sense; however, perhaps allow co-owners to do searches too if designated by the owner.

however, to avoid idoc "scripter" use etc
just make it bonded to the house YOU own

so it cannot be used to browse idocs

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The thing here is, IDOC looters do place temporary plots around houses (especially castles) that are going to decay, if there is space, so that they can drag loot off to the plots and secure it faster.

If it did also come with the timer delay this would thwart IDOC'ers searching for valuables in loot until a sufficient amount of time had passed with the items in their posession.

This is why I worded my suggestion in that particular way, as I do know of this looting technique but have not used it myself except on one occasion when there was lots of loot to be had and few people around to compete with the loot.

While I agree that a player may not keep an account as active for 13 years to just qualify for a Vet Reward, we must also remember that Vet Rewards come at 1 years increments.

So, there is always a reachable and reasonable "next step up" if the list of Veteran Rewards is well done and well thought and assorted with something for each year to keep a player's interest focused.

As I see it, the type of player that might be tempted by keeping the account open is not the player who decided to quit playing the game, but more like the player who wants to take a temporary break from it like for a few months.

If there is anything from the Vet Reward assortment that the player wants, it could be that the player might decide to take the break but leave the account as active (and who knows, perhaps also play less but still play, occasionally) and so accumulate account age that will eventually grant that much wanted reward.

Marketing as a lot of strategies to keep customers loyal to a product, rewarding customers for their loyalty to the brand or the product is one of those strategies.

Click to expand...

I didn't set a vet reward age, because that would be up to the EA/Mythic or current dev team at the time of implentation, if it were to get the go-ahead. However, since so many seem to think it either should be a rather old vet reward, or not be one at all, I think the best idea would be a compromise: Make it a 2-year vet reward because most players who get that far would be well into the stage where they're having trouble finding things, and this also alleviates the problem of large amounts of game time being taken up trying to find items when you get to the stage where secures overflow from one box to the next and organization for less than perfect people - most of us - starts going downhill.

I did put in the buyable option as I could forsee situations where someone would want to search through their containers looking for that item they thought they had and really wanted to retrieve it and wasn't too concerned about another deco item for their houses.

The whole point of having it as a vet reward item was to gather information on how well people liked the possibility of having a decorative moving crate vet reward. This could quite easily be used in 'roleplay' situations where players have an item they could easily use to signify something like recently having moved house, and which has the added bonus of being a useful vet reward.

Player input has been great so far, I thank you all for your input! I may even draft a new proposal and submit it to EA/Mythic and/or have it discussed in UHall for further consideration.

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